Dozens of countries deadlocked on Thursday in efforts to agree powers for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute crimes of state aggression, arguing over criteria for triggering investigations.
At a landmark ICC review conference held in Uganda, delegates were seeking to agree a definition of state aggression and how ICC inquiries into the offence, one of four grave crimes the court has jurisdiction over, could be triggered.
In a late-night meeting on Thursday, in an effort to reach a compromise, delegates were given a new draft resolution outlining how the UN Security Council, the ICC or a state referral might set off a probe into an act of aggression.
Christian Wenaweser, president of the Assembly of States Parties that oversees the ICC, urged states to try and bridge the gaps as they are now under “considerable time pressure.”
The issue has deeply divided states over the role the Security Council should play, with smaller nations wary of yielding authority to a world body dominated by five big powers.
Several draft papers and resolutions have been circulated among delegates this week.
One delegate said the latest draft resolution might still draw objections from smaller states as it allows the Security Council to thwart an ICC investigation with a so-called “red light clause.” Other delegates said it was too early to comment.
The new resolution still included a type of “opt-out clause” for states to shield them from a probe if they have declared with the ICC registrar that they do not accept ICC jurisdiction.
Amnesty International has warned against an opt-out clause, but the latest variant obliges states to review its opt-out within three years.
The proposal also provides for delayed entry of the court’s mandate to prosecute aggression, an idea widely supported.
However, the key issue remained whether the ICC would be able to start an investigation if the Security Council had not determined that an act of aggression took place.
Under the latest proposal, the court could not investigate an act of aggression committed by a non-member state.
Security Council powers the US, Russia and China are not members of the ICC, and states such as India, Indonesia and Israel and many Islamic countries have not signed up to the court either.
The crime of aggression is broadly defined as the use of force that manifestly breaches the UN charter and includes an invasion, a bombardment, blockade or a country allowing another state to use its territory to attack a third nation.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS